IMO, the 93 front and the 99 rear spoiler are the best. I will admit to liking sleek headlights but no other body kit has ever done a thing for me.
Rims are a matter of personal preference, love some, can't stand others. When I get the chance to buy, I hope to get stock ones that someone has powdercoated.

 

rz does look the best. i love the bbs wheels.

 

Putting a kit on an FD is like putting a kit on an Enzo ferrari, they made the thing that way with the buyers fantasies in mind, but thats just my opinion

 

Agreed.

The wheels and tires were fine for 1993, but they look like **** today (not pulling any punches, as usual). The style is boring, dated, and they're just too small. The ratio of tire to wheel is disproportionate with today's styling. Every time I see an FD with stock wheels and tires, I can't help but wonder if they just can't afford to upgrade or if they actually think they still look good after all these years.

 

Same opinion here, with the exception of the rear wing. I've got a 93 R1 and if I ever do a re-paint, the wing will come off. I think it detracts from the lines of the car in the same way that the (IMO) bulky looking 99 front end does.
I wished, as they evolved the body style over the years, could have incorporated a tasteful hood vent/scoop of some sort to help with the under hood temps a bit.

 

all I can say is that in years to come there will be countless endless amounts of chromies, deepdish etc etc....types of wheels in all sorts of large sizes and they all will come an go, its about finding a satisfying style that will last, if you want to **** money away by keeping up with 'trend' then all power to ya.
Remember, trends come an go, but there is legacy in originality.

 

You're both right!!. I believe we start to lose the essence and true spirit of what the FD really represents when we start to add "aftermarket" body kits. Some (I do stress some) aftermarket kits may look "cool", but it takes away from the beauty of the original design.,..a design unlike any other!. Just my .02

 

I too like the stock look. After much thought I am also sticking with the original body but plan to lower it some, put on a new lip, and maybe add a wing. As for rims, the only ones I like are from Volk and can't afford them - for a while.

 

I'm with you on the Volks, but I do think there are some others that look decent.

 

Well, it's a little of column "a" and column "b" for me. I think they look ever-so-slightly dated, but not horrible. I'm still waiting to find some nice, functional, wheels that scream "buy me!" Instead they usually scream "Your stockers are just fine!"

Functionality aside, I prefer the smooth looks of '93-'95 body as well. IMO, the '99+s are tasteful, and beautiful in their own right.

I'm still sitting on the fence when it comes to my R2 wing though. Like Sgtblue, I'm considering removing it on a repaint (which wont be for quite a while).

 

'99 front end is MUCH nicer than the '93.

 

Horrible combination.

 

FYI:
Designer Notes:
"I first started working on the 3rd generation RX-7 in 1988. Soft, organic aero shapes were the trend of the time. Our goal was to develop a timeless design along the lines of the legendary Ferrari and Jaguar sports / racing cars from the 60s. We pictured in our minds this car being presented at the Pebble Beach Concours 20 years later. However, we did not want to borrow any heritage from others, instead we looked at the Cosmo Sport, the first and second generation RX-7s and tried to continue this Mazda rotary heritage. "

"The air outlet on the front fender behind the front wheel was a theme I pushed for right from the beginning. This leads to the lower door cut which curves up and flows into the B pillar. The movement of these elements gave the design a dynamic stance. The outlet was meant to extract heat from the engine compartment. It also hints at the front-midship layout of the rotary power plant. The outlet was carefully sculpted to have an organic look as if the car was a living creature and this was its breathing orifice."

"At one point of the development, I was told by engineering that an outlet for the engine room was not necessary and we had to take this feature off the clay model. As you can imagine, it took a lot of character away from the design and we were all disappointed. Luckily, the brake engineers told us later that they needed to vent the hot air from the front brakes away from the engine room and exhaust it via ducts on the front fender, much to my relief, I got my air outlet back!"

"Before the RX-7, we were working on a few blue-sky projects searching for advanced design themes. One of these was the RX-44. Mazda was experimenting with hydrogen rotary engines at the time. I did a futuristic sedan powered by a 4-rotor hydrogen engine. It seats 4 persons in a diamond pattern with the driver up front at the center. To hint at this seating arrangement, I put 4 bubbles on the roof of the car in the same diamond pattern. Later, my boss Tom Matano did a 3 passenger mid-engine super car powered by a 3-rotor engine. He put 3 bubbles on his model. When we started the RX-7, which was a 2-seater powered by a 2-rotor engine, It was only natural for us to put 2 bubbles on the roof. Tom and I have since referred to it affectionately as the 'double bubble!'"

 

I think you are right guyz,

I just bought my 1999 RS and start searching for some body kits, but I think if I add anything will just mess up the looks. Probably I will add just the factory side skirts for the 99 RS and 18in wheels.

 

Thank you Dr. , very very much. I think everyone here will agree it was a job well done.


BTW, I like to meet that engineer who said venting the engine bay heat wasn't necessary.

 

You got that right. What an utter moron.

 

The 99 RZ RX-7 is the hottest car EVER made IMO. I am going to do everything to make mine exactly like the 99 RZ.

 

Seems to me it splits out to those who want to drive a comic book, and those who used to sit and read ALL the words in the salon section of R&T, most especially when the numbers 250 were included

 

well guys, its good to see that this subject is really divided down the middle, when I first raised the question I never thought It would raise so much debate!
But its good to see that everyone has an opinion , cheers to all those who have contributed

 

I agree with ya'lls

 

Okay, analyze it.

The angular lines of the 99 front do not coalesce with the smoother lines of the rest of the body and rear of the car. You have these sharp, unwavering lines edging against smooth curvaceous lines.

It's disjunctive and otherwise known as "bad art."

Think: Scootsports hood, 4 ft riceboy spoilers, veilside fronts, etc. They all lack the ability to mesh with the rest of the car.

I just think people like the 99 front because it's "new."

 

<~~~~ poor man


You must be referring to me

 

Everybody here has their own specific "flavor" of what looks best with the FD (stock or otherwise), so here's mine -->

Stock. Completely stock. The car itself has the sexiest curves of any car I have ever seen. To me, nothing looks cooler. The design and dark tint of the taillights are a stroke of genius, the whole rear-end doesn't suffer from the "big-butt" syndrome that the C5 suffers from. I'm one who's of the opinion that the FD looks better with the R1/R2 rear spoiler. The spoiler itself is very curvy, flowing, meshes perfectly with the car, and is much lower profile than the ones on cars today. The 99 spec FD is cool, but I still think the 93-95 looks the best. Also, I love the stock wheels (sorry jimlab ). I do wish they were bigger though, I think 17" would be perfect. But I will be keeping the stock wheels for the forseeable future, though my S03's that I get in a few weeks will be 245's.

Oh yeah, I love the 93-95 front lip spoiler too. It looks the sleekest and curviest out of the others I have seen. Once I install one, I'm completely done with the exterior (except for a professional repaint someday).

Everyone has their own taste!

 

I must agree...or maybe it's just that I haven't seen anyone use the word "coalesce" in a sentence for a while... In any event, my impression of the 99 spec is that it increases the front overhang of the car. No, I haven't measured it, but it just seems to be more in front of the wheels.
Mind you, 99 spec is NOT ugly, I just prefer the 93-95 front end treatment. And see no sense in spending $$ to change it. But to each his own.

 

I think the term here might be "Lost in Translation". I don't think it was the actual "engineering" department that told him they "had to take this feature off the clay model." Probably someone from marketing (who wield considerable influence over final design) told them that it should be removed. Unless it directly impacts performance or some other mechanical aspect of the car, I can't see the engineering department telling the styling team that a particular styling aspect of a clay mockup "has" to be removed.